Obama in Ann Arbor to push for minimum wage hike

President Barack Obama stopped at the University of Michigan Wednesday, April 2, to discuss raising the federal minimum wage. The president said doing so would help out 28 million Americans.
Krystal Elliott — Washtenaw Now

ANN ARBOR >> The city of Ann Arbor was buzzing Wednesday as President Barack Obama made a visit at the University of Michigan to talk about his plan to raise the minimum wage.

Obama spoke to a crowd of 1,100 people at the university’s Intramural Building and took the stage saying “Hey, Michigan. Go Blue!” He then joked about picking Michigan State University as the winner of the NCAA tournament.

“I learned my lesson. I will not pick against the Wolverines,” he said.

The president’s visit, his third to U-M, was targeted to discuss the country’s federal minimum wage.

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Obama is hoping to raise the wage to $10.10, which he said would benefit 28 million Americans.

“We need to make sure everyone can get a good, solid base so they can have a job and career,” he said.

During his speech, Obama mentioned the pay disparity for men and women.

“I do not want my daughters paid less for doing the same job as somebody else’s son,” he said.

He also said he believed the economy grows best not from the top down, but from the middle up and that the average age of people making minimum wage is 35.

“There are always going to be folks who do critical work and bust their butts every day … who deserve an honest day’s pay for honest work,” he said. “...It’s time to give Americans a raise.”

Prior to his visit, Obama stopped at Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor for lunch, which he said he chose because the company not only has great sandwiches — he ordered a reuben he said was “killer” — but because they pay workers above minimum wage.

“Nobody who works full time should be raising their family in poverty,” he said.

Obama’s address was open to U-M students, the media and a few selected guests. More than 900 students lined up outside of the Michigan Union to secure their tickets Tuesday morning, some arriving as early as 4 p.m. Monday.

Sophomores Rachel Zuellig and Karen Bates waited 11 hours to get their tickets.

When asked whether they were there to see Obama or to hear his message on minimum wage, they said it was a little of both.

“Obviously I’m interested in what he has to say, but we were actually just discussing if it were a president of the opposite party if we would still want to come,” Bates said, adding that she calls herself a Democrat.

“I would have wanted to come anyway,” she said. “Regardless of what he was talking about, I would have come.”

Two Michigan graduate students felt similarly, though they only waited four hours for their tickets.

“There was really no need to camp out,” Emily Taylor said.

Taylor and her friend Nancy Gephart are both graduating this spring, and they said seeing the president speak was a great way to end their college career.

“I thought it was really good. What he said was geared toward the younger audience,” Taylor said.

“He did a really good job making it light and fun. He definitely gained a lot of points by mentioning Zingerman’s and some other Ann Arbor institutions,” Gephart said.

While they agree with the president that the minimum wage should be raised to $10.10, they said they mostly came for the opportunity to see Obama in person.

In addition to several hundred U-M students, several state and local leaders were present, including members of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti city councils, many Washtenaw County Commissioners and some state representatives.

Ypsilanti Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson , who said she’s seen Obama speak six times, said that this was the best speech he’s done so far.

“There was a fire in him today that I don’t know that we’ve ever seen before,” Richardson said. “The president is at this point where he knows who he is, and he’s got this attitude of, ‘You can’t touch me.’”

Richardson said that the president’s topic of minimum wage was appropriate and timely for the state of Michigan.

“Definitely minimum wage. We have got to raise that,” she said. “When two working parents, a mother and father who work with three kids, when they can’t break the poverty line something is wrong.”

Obama ended his speech urging the audience to contact their local Congressmen and ask for minimum wage increases.

“You can give Americans the shaft, or you can give them a raise,” he said. “...We got to make sure everybody, black, white, Native American, gay, straight ... everybody has a chance. America is a place for everybody.”